Sony BMG, BT Link For New Service

Sony BMG Music Entertainment has signed an agreement to give BT, the British telecommunications giant, early access to the major label’s music videos for a new on-demand entertainment service launch

Sony BMG Music Entertainment has signed an agreement to give BT, the British telecommunications giant, early access to the major label’s music videos for a new on-demand entertainment service launching this fall.

The new service, called BT Vision, enables subscribers to access a catalog of music, film and TV content, via traditional telephone wires to watch on their TV sets.

The on-demand system effectively rents out the content to subscribers. Should they want to download to own individual videos, they are able to do so via the BT Vision Download Store on www.bt.com/downloadstore.

They can download the videos to their PCs or to portable devices that are compatible with Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Media software.

According to BT, a significant proportion of the Sony BMG videos will be exclusive to BT Vision. But details of that agreement’s structure and the pricing have still not been disclosed.

Among the acts that will be featured are Bob Dylan, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, and George Michael.

BT Vision has already signed similar deals with Warner Music Group, U.K.-based Eagle Rock and Switzerland-originated video-on-demand service i-concerts.